


Sand and Roses, Ink and Glass

by radioactivesaltghoul



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (not that anyone's admitting it's a crush), Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, F/M, No Pregnancy, Safe to Read if You're Triggered by Pregnancy, Witch Rey (Star Wars), tfw u use ur magic powers for the first time in years bc ur crush smells good, witch ben solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactivesaltghoul/pseuds/radioactivesaltghoul
Summary: There’s a new witch in town whose magic smells of the sands of Jakku and roses only found in the plains of Takodana.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60





	Sand and Roses, Ink and Glass

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/gifts).



> i can't resist a good witchcraft reylo au prompt. i hope i do it justice! enjoy the (belated) treat, briar!

There’s a new witch in town.

Ben has lived in Coruscant for years, but he’s been ignoring his heritage as a witch since he left Chandrila—and his family—behind in favor of focusing on his career as a scientist with First Order Research. His talent is strong thanks to the Skywalker gene, but he always clashed with his family on how best to employ it.

Science is good. Science is objective. Science doesn’t give a shit that he can set fires with just a snap of his fingers, or that he frequently wakes up floating a foot above his bed.

But all of that comes crashing down when the pawn shop two blocks from his apartment goes up in flames that smell of dust and roses. The scent of magic wafting from the fire is so strong that he can smell it from his bedroom. It makes his mouth water; there’s a part of him that knows deep down that he has to find whoever is behind this.

He calls out sick from work for the first time in seven years so that he can dig out the box hiding in the back of his closet, the one with tools and talismans he hasn’t looked at since he left his so-called “Skywalker Legacy” behind. He grabs some dried herbs from the kitchen and sprinkles them over a map of Coruscant while he waves a pendulum over it, seeking out the witch. It’s like trying to run through an obstacle course after being homebound for years. He has the muscle memory, but the muscles themselves have atrophied.

And then he feels a pull— _there,_ in the botanical garden. If he uses magic to ensure that the buses magically run on time with no traffic to hinder them, well, who’s to judge? It’s vital that he finds the witch before they can cause any more fires.

When he hops off the bus at the Coruscant Botanical Garden, he already knows it’s too late by the way the once-groomed rows of plants are now overrun with poison ivy, thorny rose bushes, and ambrosia flowers so heavy with pollen that he can’t stop sneezing despite his magically-enhanced health. It’s as beautiful as it is violent, blood red roses peeking out amongst dozens of other poisonous flowers.

He probably should stick around and do something to reduce the danger of these plants—stars know he has the power to help out somehow—but he can’t stop now. He needs to find this witch, to teach them—what? It’s not like he’s bothered to use his magic at all in the last seven years.

It’s nearly midnight by the time he crawls back to his apartment, head pounding as he experiences magical burnout for the first time in decades. The witch must know he’s onto them, because they’ve started leaving red herrings to distract Ben while they wreak more havoc throughout the city. Magical fires, deadly flowers, and power outages are all over the place, shutting the city down as the chaos grows.

He calls out sick for the second day in a row, ignoring the dozens of angry emails from Snoke, Hux, and Pryde so that he can focus on finding the witch.

The scent of their magic grows thicker with each new mess they leave behind, enough so that Ben knows the exact type of dust (the kind found in the Jakku Desert in the southwestern part of the continent) and breed of roses (wild ones found in the plains of Takodana thousands of miles from Coruscant) that make up their magic. By the time he’s found the fifth electrical outage they’ve caused, his need for it is so strong that he thinks he may die of thirst if he can’t find the witch behind it.

He chases and chases and chases, blindly following the scent until he’s outside of the city completely and halfway to the mountains that flank the eastern border of Coruscant. Without the iron that permeates the city to dampen magic, he can hone in on the witch, practically flying through the broken mountain roads until he comes to a clearing where a woman is hissing at him, teeth bared and arms held up like she thinks she can take him in a fight.

She’s not at all what he was expecting to find. Dammit, why does she have to be so pretty? Her hazel eyes are flashing at him, and her hair is barely contained in the three buns holding it back.“You’re the witch I’ve been looking for,” he murmurs, stepping towards her. As furiously as he’s been hunting her, he needs to proceed carefully. She’s proven that she’s just as powerful as she is untrained, a dangerous combination in their world.

She steps back, maintaining the distance between them. “What do you want?” she growls. The scent of her magic is so thick, he can barely breathe. But there’s a third layer to it now. Charcoal, like a fire that’s burnt itself out.

 _This is for her own safety,_ he thinks as he waves his hand and freezes her in place. She’s still angry, but now she’s terrified as well. Not ideal, but his grip on her is firm enough that he can approach her without worrying about spooking her. With another wave of his hand, she’s unconscious, falling into his arms as he scoops her up before she can hit the floor.

* * *

His apartment has been warded by the best charms he can muster, and the witch is restrained by enchanted chains tying her to a chair in Ben’s kitchen. Understandably, she’s furious when she comes to. “Where am I?” she hisses, head swiveling as she examines her surroundings.

“You’re my guest,” Ben says, analyzing every microexpression she makes as she takes in the room around her.

Her attention is back on him in an instant. “Is this how you treat all your guests?” she growls, tugging at her chains. She curses. “Why can’t I—”

“They’re magical,” he says, unable to hide how smug he feels right now. “You’re powerful, but you’re no match for iron, rowan, and ash.”

He can see the moment she realizes how screwed she is reflected in her eyes, and it causes some of the tension to dissipate from his body. “You can’t go around starting fires and leaving poisonous gardens wherever you go,” he explains. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you control over your magic?”

“I have perfect control over my magic,” she snaps.

“The seven power outages you caused would suggest otherwise.”

She grumbles something under her breath that he doesn’t catch. “Who are you to say what I can and can’t do?”

“Ben Solo,” he replies. “Perhaps you’ve heard of my family. The Skywalkers.”

What he feels when there’s no recognition in her eyes is _not_ disappointment that he’s failed to impress her, thank you very much. “We’re witches,” he explains. “As are you. Didn’t your family—”

“I’m Rey, and I have no family,” she spits out. “I grew up alone—”

“In Jakku?”

She gives him a wary look. “How’d you guess?”

“Your magic,” he says. “It smells like Jakku dust and Takodana roses.”

“Magic,” she repeats slowly. “Is that why you smell like calligraphy ink and glass test tubes?”

“I do?” Neither his mother or his uncle have ever bothered to describe the scent of his magic, and it had never occurred to him to ask.

The corner of her mouth lifts in a half-smile. “You sound surprised,” she says. “Did no one ever tell you that?”

“I haven’t had much contact with any other witches for a while,” he confesses. “Haven’t wanted to. But then you came along and…” He’s not sure how to end that sentence.

She looks at him, really _looks_ at him now. He’s not sure what she sees in his eyes until she murmurs, “You’re afraid. Of your magic, I mean.”

He can see her truth as well. “You’re so lonely,” he whispers, leaning across the table in an unconscious need to move closer to her. “You’ve always been alone.”

There’s a pause heavy with potential. Thoughts are flying through Ben’s mind so fast that he’s nearly dizzy with it. “If I untie you,” he finally says, “can I trust you not to run away again?”

She bites her lip, considering. “Yes,” she says after a few moments. “I’m not promising to stay forever, but…” She trails off.

He knows what she means. “Don’t be afraid,” he says, moving around the table to untie her. “I feel it too.” He steps away to give her a little space, but she reaches out to grab his hand.

And in that moment, he understands. “It’s you,” he whispers. He opens his mouth to explain, then closes it as he realizes he can’t.

Fortunately, Rey doesn’t need an explanation. “I was looking for you,” she says, getting to her feet and reaching for Ben’s other hand. “I didn’t know it, but I was.”

The air is thick with the potential of everything they can do together. “I can teach you,” he says, unable to hold back his excitement. “Let me teach you. Please.”

She gives him a full-fledged, genuine smile now. “As long as I can teach you,” she replies. “You never know when you’ll need a poisonous garden.” It’s unclear if she’s joking or not, but he laughs anyway. “You’re lucky I like the scent of ink and glass,” she adds.

He can’t help but preen at the knowledge that she likes anything about him. “Yes, I am.” They’re still holding hands; he can already feel the power flowing between them. He’ll have to get more iron to keep around his apartment if she’s going to stick around. His landlord will probably kick him out and keep the security deposit if the apartment is damaged in a magical accident.

She’s still beaming at him. “Now that we’ve got that sorted out,” she says. “What next?”

Her smile is irresistible. “Let’s get outside of the city for a bit,” he replies, “and we’ll learn what we’re capable of together.”

**Author's Note:**

> i am radioactivesaltghoul on [tumblr](https://radioactivesaltghoul.tumblr.com/) and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/radioactivesaltghoul) and r_saltghoul on [twitter](https://twitter.com/r_saltghoul) (although i generally lay low on social media.)


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